Flanging machine



Feb. 2 1926.

J. G. RUSSELL FLANGING MACHINE Filed August 14. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet l JAMES 6. fil/SSfZL B WW W Feb. 2 1926. 13571558 J. G. RUSSELL FLANGING MACHINE Filed August 14, 1922 '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 fifl/entor' I JA/IMS 6. 905.9541.

Feb. 2 1926.

. J. G- RUSSELL FLANGING MACHINE M u r mam u m6 ,0. A.

F O Q I Patented Feb. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES JAMES G. RUSSELL, 0F DORGHE$TIEB, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLANGING MACHINE.

Application filed August 14, 1922. Serial No. 581,674.

To cZZ 10720922, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMns G. RUssnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dorehester, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flanging Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in flanging machines. More particularly it relates to machines for bending a relatively large and thick plate of metal, such as boiler iron, into cup shape, as for the head of a boiler. By such machines it has been the practice to bend the edge portion of the circular plate, in successive bites or portions, by moving a member about a center located approximately where the bend occurs. This bending member usually has a carrier that moves in the machine on an are about this center. If a right angled flange is required the bending is done in stages, as for example by successively bending portions around the edge until the part of the plate which is to constitute the flange is inclined at about thirty degrees from the plane of the plate, then repeating the operations around the edge to bend the flange through another 30 degrees, and finally by a third trip around the plate bending the metal through another 30 degrees, thus forming a ninety degree flange. The moving member or bender oscillates, one movement accomplishing the bending of a bite, and the next bringing the bender back into initial position, ready to work upon the next portion of the edge when the plate shall have been moved along. Various forms of apparatus have been de vised for effecting the oscillating movements of the bender, but all known to me have been of a complicated nature, involving a large cost in make up, and considerable care and attention to keep them in operative condition.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple but powerful driving mechanism which will force the bender down at proper working speed and then will return it at increased speed to its initial position. Another object is to provide means whereby the degree of movement of the bender can be regulated to any desired amount, with the additional feature of positively and automatically limiting the extreme mo ement th reof as a t PIE-YB! has moved through any rupture or damage to the machine in case of carelessness or forgetfulness. A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for holding the material operated upon, to the end that it may be clamped or released, thereby permitting its rapid shifting to new positions, and whereby it may be easily removed without interference by the holding means when the work upon it has been completed.

These objects are attained by providing a segmental rack on a carrier with which a worm gear is always in mesh, so that upon rotation of the worm the carrier is forced to travel in one direction or another. The worm gear is fast on a shaft driven through bevel gears; and arranged loosely on thedrive shaft are driving pulleys each of which is adapted to be locked to the shaft by any ordinary or suitable type of clutch controlled by a shifting device which may be operated by hand toengage or release either pulley, although it is a feature of the invention that mechanical means are provided. for disengaging the clutch when the desired travel of the bender has been effected. This automatic release is controlled by a system of linkage arranged to function upon the engagement therewith of dogs adjustably mounted on a disk having rotation synchronous with the bender carrier. The dogs can be set so that when the carrier desired angle, they will cause the linkage to operate and throw out whichever clutch is at the time engaged, thus stopping the machine. By limiting the amount of adjustment of these dogs so that in their extreme settings they must unfailingly operate to throw out the clutch, overtravel by the carrier is eliminated and the safe operation of the machine is assured. The holding means comprise a clamping block rotatable on a new shaft, which canbe moved along its axis toward or away from the material. This shaft is mounted in a head piece which in turn may be rotated on its axis to remove the holding means from the path of the material as it is withdrawn from the machine after being flanged.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, but such disclosure is merely illustrative, and other applications of the principles involved might be made Itis intended that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of patent-able novelty exist in the invention disclosed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a fianging machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view in medial section along a portion of the machine;

Fig. 3 is an end view as seen from the left in Fig. 1;

Fig. tis a view of the opposite end; and

Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly insection, showing the details of the control mechanlsm.

Referring to the drawings, the material A to be bent or flanged is placed on an anvil or fulcrum block 10, securely mounted between C-shaped side plates 12 of the frame, with its edge under the bender 14 and projecting beyond the anvil a distance equal to the width of the desired flange. The holding block or clamp head 16 is then brought down upon the material by rotation of a screw plunger 18 on which the block is relatively rotatable. The plunger or shaft 18 is threaded in a headpiece 2O trnnnioned in the side members 12 of the frame thus enabling the clamping plate to be swung up and away from the anvil by a handlever 22 upon withdrawal of the locating pin 26.

This arrangement is desirable in that a screw plunger having a relatively small load can be employed, whereby the sllght movement of the holding block necessary to effect clamping of the work on the anvil and its quick withdrawal to permit shifting of the plate, may be accomplished in less than a revolution of the plunger handle 21 and its complete removal effected by rotation of the head piece. \Vhen so removed the pin 26 also serves to hold it out of the way, by engaging in a hole (not shown) in the plunger head piece 20, when the latter has been rotated by the handle 22.

lVith the work securely held on the ful cru-m block, as shown infull lines in Fig. 1, the bending operation may be performed by swinging the bender downward about a center. indicated by a dot 0, toward the side of the anvil. It has been found advantageous to arrange the fulcrum with respect to this center 0, so that when the bender swings about this point, it will in fact slip or wipe over the surface of the plate that is being turned down, in a manner to aid the clamping'block in holding the work securely, and revent buckling of the material where the bending takes place. The swinging of the bender 14 about the point 0 isidue in fact to a circular movement of its carrier 28 between guides -30 formed one on each side plate 12 of the frame, and constituting, as it were, parallel arcs of circles about an axis passing through the aforementioned center. The perimeter of the carrier is provided with gear teeth 32 adapted to mesh with a worm fixed on an inclined shaft 36 journa-led in suitable bearings 38 supported on a channel plate 40 between the side plates 12. On the upper end of this inclined shaft 36 is fixed a bevel 12 which meshes with a similar gear 14 on the end of a horizontal drive shaft 16 suitably mounted on rearward extending frame members 48 and 50, Two driving pulleys 52 and 51 turning loosely upon the drive shaft in opposite directions, one being preferably of greater diameterthan the other, are each equipped with a clutch 56 whereby upon shifting the cone '58 along the shaft,-either one pulley or O the other may be locked to the shaft. The mechanism for shifting the clutch cone is arranged to be operated both by hand and by mechanical means, it being intended that whendriving connection is desired the operator will manually move the cone to operate a clutch, and while this connection may be released in a similar manner, it is further provided that the release may be offec ted mechanically. A groove 60 on the shifter cone is engaged by the yoke end of a rocker arm 62fixed on a. short shaft (31 mounted in the frame members 50, and through one of which it projects to make rigid engagement with thehand lever 65.

If the near face of the left hand or large pulley 52 turns toward the base the carrier 28 will move around between its guides in a clockwise direction when this pulley is locked to the shaft 16. Consequently, the bender will swing downward forcing the plate metal toward the side of the anvil. To reverse this direction of travel, the cone clutch is shifted through neutral into engagement with the smaller pulley 5 1, which, obviously, is arranged to turn in a direction opposite to that of the large pulley. Pref crably this smaller pulley rotates at greater speed than the larger pulley 52, so that the return movement of the carrier will be more rapid than its working moven'ient. lVhcn a working and a'return stroke have been of fected the holding block is then released and. the plate moved along or around the anvil, depending upon whether a straight or circular flange is being made, to a position where anunbent portion of the plate is in position to be operated upon during the next downward travel of the bender.

In order :to prevent either the operative movement or the return movement of the carrier from going too far, there is control mechanism provided which can be set to disengage either clutch automatically at any predetermined point of travel of the carrier. This mechanism comprises a worm 66 on the end of the driveshaft opposite the bevel gear 44, which worm serves to drive a gear wheel 68 rotatable .on a shaft 7 0, supported upon the horizontal frame members III 48 with its axis at right angles to the axis of the drive shaft. On the front side of this gear wheel, as seen in Figs. 1 and 5, there is provided a circular T-slot 72 within which the heads of T-bolts 74 may be moved nearly around the gear. These bolts are provided with collars 7 6 which rest on the face of the gear at the sides of the slot opening, and serve both as distance pieces for the thumb nuts 78, so that upon the nuts being tightened the bolt can be clamped in any position around the slot, and as dogs to throw a lever 80 which they encounter as they move with the gear wheel. The lever 80 is pivoted loosely on the shaft at one side of the gear wheel and extends downward somewhat below the gear to slotted engagement with one end of a pin 84, the other end of which is similarly connected to a lever on the other side of the gear wheel. This pin 84 is attached at its middle portion to a single lever 86 located between the other two, and rotatable on a shaft 88 jonrnaled in the base members 50. The lever extends upward from the pin to engage one end of a link 90, whose other end is pinned to the rocker arm 62. Upon the hand lever 64 being thrown to move the cone into engagement with a clutch, the rocker arm 62, through link 9O, swings the levers 86, 80 and 80 to a position on one side or the other of the vertical according to which clutch is engaged. As heretofore described, upon engagement of either clutch, the drive shaft is rotated, and with it the worm 66 on its end. This imniediately auses rotation of the gear wheel, counterclockwise if the carrier is moving downward and clockwise if the return n'iovement is being effected. In either case it is evident that one of the clamped T bolts is moving around toward the lever 80. If the bender is operating, the lever 80 will be to the left from the vertical, and the gear wheelwill be moving counter clockwise, so that when a "l -bolt has moved far enough for its collar to strike the lever, the latter will be pushed back toward the vertical upon continued movement of the gear wheel. This, in turn, acting through the linkage heretofore described, will cause withdrawal of the clutch with consequent stoppage of the drive shaft. The effect is identical when the return movement takes place, and the parts operate reversely.

The worm on the drive shaft and the gear wheel which it rotates are so related to each other and to the inclined worm and segmental gear on the carrier, that when the latter is moved through an arc of approximately ninety degrees, the gear wheel will have rotated through nearly a complete revolution. As shewn in Fig. 5 the circular slot does not extend entirely around the face of the gear wheel 68,. The purpose of this is to limit the amount by which the T bolts 74 can be moved, so that when the bolts are at the extreme ends of the slot, the limit of rotation of the gear is thus fixed, for when either bolt reaches the lever 80, it will cause disengagement of whatever clutch has been acting. This total degree of rotation of the gear wheel corresponds to the maximum circular movement of the carrier. As shown in Fig. 1, when the carrier is in one extreme position, the T-bolt is at one end of the slot against the lever with the latter in neutral position. At such time the lever 80 can not be moved to the right, being against the T-bolt and the latter at the end of the slot. Consequently the cone cannot be moved to the right to cause further movement upward of the carrier. lVith the gear wheel rotated to its other extreme position, that is, when the other T-bolt is against the opposite side of the lever, the cone cannot then be moved to the left to cause further downward travel of the carrier. In this manner, the movement of the carrier is positively limited and the stoppage of travel in either direction is effected automatically by the T-bolts and the linkage operated thereby. If new it is desired to move the carrier only a portion of its possible travel, say to make a bend of thirty degrees, the T-bolt which causes disengagement of the driving pulley is set and clamped at the proper position in the T-slot, shown dotted in Fig. 5, so that it will strike the lever when the carrier has moved its desired distance. By thus merely setting either T-bolt at different locations in the "islet, any desired limit of travel, in either direction, of the carrier can be obtainet. And'when so set, the operator need only concern himself with the throwing of the hand lever 62, to start the machine, for the control mechanism will act automatically to stop the carrier when its pii'edetern'lined limit of movement ,has been reached.

The simplicity of construction of a machine embodying the features of the present invention makes it relatively inexpensive to build, and the wearing parts are so few in number and can be replaced so readily that the cost of upkeep is correspondingly small. It can be built in any size to accomn'iodate whatever width of flange is desired. The sheet metal and angle iron members provide the requisite strength with the least weight, and this feature, together with the fact that the machine can be driven from any suitable power shaft, enables it to be transportable for both shop and field work. The provision of simple driving means, whereby power is transmitted by mechanical elements without transformation, enables the machine to be operated most eflicient-ly and economically.

I claim as my invention;

1. A flanging machine comprising means for holding material to be flanged, a bender adapted to operate upon material so held, and means for actuating said bender; the said holding means comprising a plunger movable toward and from the material along its own axis, and movable toward and from the material by rotation about an axis at right angles to its own axis, there being means to lock said plunger in different positions around the aXis about which it rotates.

2. A flanging machine comprising means for holding material to be flanged, a bendor adapted to operate upon material so held, and means for actuating said bender; the said holding means comprising a screw shaft, a clamp head thereon relatively rotatable therewith, and a swivelled member through which said shaft is movable along its own axis and by which it may be swung about an axis at right angles thereto.

3. A flanging machine having means for holding the material to be flanged; a bender adapted to operate upon material so held comprising a segmental gear; means for actuating said bender throughout the whole of its possible travel comprising a worm gear meshing with said segmental gear; and means adapted to release said actuating means short of its maximum travel.

4. A flanging machine having means for holding material to be flanged; a bender adapted to operate upon material so held and having an arcuate gear; and means for actuating said bender comprising a worm meshing with said areuate gear, a shaft in driving connection with said worm and having a driven pulley loosely mounted thereon, and a clutch for said pulley and shaft, whereby said bender is actuated.

A Hanging machine having means for holding material to be flanged; a bender adapted to operate upon material so held and having an arcuate gear; means for actuating said bender comprising a worm meshing with said arcuate gear, a shaft in driving connection with said worm and having a driven pulley loosely mounted thereon, a clutch for said pulley and shaft whereby said bender is actuated; and means for automatically disengaging said clutch at a predeterm ned point of travel of said bender.

G. A llanging machine having means for holding material to be flanged: a bender adapted to operate upon material so held and having an arcuate gear; means for actuating said bender comprising a worm meshing with said areuate gear, a shaft in driving connection with said worm having driven pulleys loosely mounted thereon, and arranged to turn in opposite directions, and a clutch adapted to lock either pulley and shaft together, whereby said bender is actuated in opposite directions; and means for automatically disengaging said clutch at a predetermined point of travel of the bender in either direction.

7. A Hanging machine having means for holding material to be flanged; a bender adapted to operate upon material so held and having a segn'iental gear; an oblique shaft under the rear of the bender having a worm engaging said segmental gear; a horizontal drive shaft further to the rear in engagement with said oblique shaft; and power connecting and reversing means on said drive shaft.

8. A tlanging machine having means for holding material to be flanged; a bender adapted to operate upon material so held and having a segmental gear; an oblique shaft underthe rear of the bender having a worm engaging said segmental gear; a horizontal. drive shaft further to the rear in engagement with said oblique shaft; power connecting and reversing means on said drive shaft; and a member moving synchronously with. the bender and controlling said power connecting and reversing means.

,9. A flanging machine having a frame of sheet metal and angle iron construction, comprising C-shaped guiding and support;- ing fins: combined with work holding means arranged between the ends of said fins; a segmental support slidable on said fins, and carrying a bender; angle iron members attached to and extending rearward from said fins; a horizontal drive shaft mounted on said members; and an intermediate shaft supported obliquely'between said fins and adapted to transmit power from said drive shaft to said segmental support, whereby said bender moves within the hollow of said fins to operate upon work clamped in the holding means.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this second day of May, 1922.

JAMES G. RUSSELL. 

